Gumtree #Upcycle Revolution-and the winner is….

Here’s Neil with Max McMurdo and Dorothee from Gumtree with his award, and £500 which he chose to donate to the NSPCC.

It was a brilliant, brilliant night, and it really did feel like we were at the start of a genuine #UpcycleRevolution!
The passion and talent of all the people in the room was so evident, and everyone was so warm and friendly.
The only minor downside was that I clearly hadn’t thought through my choice of project, as whenever I was asked which was our project, I was greeted by the response “Oh, you’re the rat lady!”….

Here’s some more pics-apologies for the quality of mine-they were snapped on my phone, in dodgy lighting..!

This vanity unit from Love Nellie was really clever, and even the little boxes had been decopatched. My favourite bit was the framed picture of Max McMurdo..!

Photo Credit: Gumtree Here I am with the Rat Palace!

Photo Credit: Gumtree

I spoke to several of the Gumtree team, and I really do believe that they are supporting upcycling and upcyclers because they believe it’s a fab thing to do, rather than as a PR stunt.
I’m looking forwards to seeing where they take this, and being involved if I can help in any way.

Max McMurdo, him off the TV, was there, and was the judge.
He gave a rousing speech about the changes he has seen in the 13 years he has been upcycling, and the need to get our kids involved in making, designing and upcycling.
I couldn’t agree more with Max on this, and I had a chat with him during the evening about whether we could somehow emulate Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, but for upcycling, and get schools and kids involved with learning a whole host of new skills, and encouraging them to have a go (and get it wrong, and try again!).

Here’s a video that Gumtree have put together about the event, and about the #UpcycleRevolution

Gumtree have declared 24th June as National Upcycling Day-I’m just finalising a plan to get the whole upcycling community inspiring others and spreading the word-stay tuned…!

Huge thanks to Gumtree and to Max McMurdo, for making this happen and for a great night.